Photo Credit: Carly Chartier
Punk 'N' Rollers The Bloodshots Take "Scream!" Coast-To-Coast On Their 'Screamin' Across Canada' Tour
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Every time CJ Loane plugs in his guitar, the same riff comes tumbling out. Now that warm up riff has become "Scream!," a fist pumping, sing it at the top of your lungs anthem from Winnipeg's The Bloodshots, and the band is taking it to every corner of the country on their 'Screamin' Across Canada’ tour. The run is underway now and rolls through Ontario, the Prairies, British Columbia and Quebec until December 12, with a big October stretch alongside The Lazys on their 'Too Tough To Die Tour.'
"Scream!" was born on stage, and the crowds helped write it. "'Scream!' came from a warmup riff that front man CJ Loane would always fiddle with in an ADHD kind of way every time his guitar got plugged in," the band says. "Since he does have ADHD, it became habit for him and the other band members started crafting the song from that one riff. When we started playing it, the audiences fed off of it and started acting accordingly with the synchronized fist pumping."
That reaction sent them straight to the studio. "That energy drove us to want to record and release this song so off we went to a studio in the middle of the bush off Hwy 1 in Manitoba to make it release ready. 'The Telecaster Disaster', aka Rhythm Guitar Player Keith Skazyk, jumped in and laid out a smooth sexy bed of Bass for everything to fall into place nicely. CJ pulled out all the stops vocally like a mix between a rabid banshee in heat and a sultry crooner! Ben, the Drummer, worked on his growling screams and 'Yeah's' so altogether with the big gang vocals give 'Scream!' the high energy, anthem-style song it is."
The result is a full throttle party anthem about letting go, cranking the volume and living completely in the moment. Built on that irresistible rock and roll riff, it captures the rush of a packed room where strangers become friends, and every voice joins the chorus: "So let's take flight / You're gonna hear the jet Scream!" The band kept the recording intentionally raw as a tribute to the song's live energy, and the brand-new music video brings all that sweat and swagger straight to the screen.
The Bloodshots call their sound Nu Grunge Punk 'n Roll, and fans of The Offspring, Nirvana, Rise Against and Green Day will feel right at home. Loane, who is Indigenous from the Sagkeeng Anicinabe First Nation in Manitoba, leads the band on vocals and lead guitar, with Skazyk on rhythm guitar and vocals, Ian Powell on bass and Ben Hodges on drums. Loane wrote "Scream!" and the band produced it themselves.
Their resume is stacked. The Bloodshots have played stages across Canada and the legendary Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles, and shared bills with The Headstones, Danko Jones, Buckcherry, Steel Panther, Econoline Crush and the one and only Slash. Their single "No Way Out" won Best Rock Video at both the Indigenous Superstar Awards and the Native American Music Awards, and they've been nominated for Best Rock Band at the Indigenous Music Awards. "Empty," "Every Time I Die" and "Gettin' Around" all hit #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown, and "Every Time I Die" earned the band a SOCAN award. Now they're set to receive a second SOCAN award, this time for taking "Gettin' Around" to #1.
With "Scream!" and "Gettin' Around" heading to radio, a fresh video out now, another SOCAN award on the way and dozens of shows on the calendar, 2026 is shaping up to be their loudest year yet. So, when CJ plugs in this fall and that riff comes roaring out, you know exactly what to do. Scream.
